The View Underwater
by Jedipati
Summary: The Dutchman is more then a ship. And she has her own opinions on the events of DMC and AWE.


The View Underwater

Author: immortal_jedi aka jedipati

Disclaimer: I don't own Jack the Monkey. Nor do I own POTC.

Characters: The Flying Dutchman; mentions of others

Rating: PG

Summary: The Dutchman is more then a ship. And she has her own opinions on the events of DMC and AWE.

* * *

I rushed to the surface once again, under the direction of my Captain.

We broke the surface in a storm, near a shipwreck. The poor ship had been attacked by the Kraken, and just like her crew, she was dying. I offered what comfort I could as my crew headed over to her to collect her crew.

She told me that a man had come aboard after she had been destroyed, but before I had arrived.

I wasn't sure what to think about that. _Perhaps,_ I said, _he is a pirate, and wanted to see if you had anything of value._

_He would not have tried to help my crew if that were the case,_ she replied.

I dipped my bow slightly in acknowledgement. _I will see what I can learn, younger sister._ I told her.

_Thank you,_ she said.

I felt her slip away, just as my Captain headed over to her.

It was a shame, really. She might have liked my Captain. He was a good man, if misguided.

I felt it when one of her crewmen joined my crew. I welcomed him as my magic healed him.

For some reason, my Captain took longer on that ship then normal. Then, he went to another nearby ship- my sister in truth, not just in words.

She greeted me, and explained that her captain was trying to stay free.

I reminded her that my Captain had made a deal with hers.

She sighed and told me that she knew that- but she didn't want to lose her captain again, and she would help him as much as possible.

Her joy when my Captain gave hers a reprieve was startling. I hadn't known that other ships could feel that way about their captains. Even if she was an unusual ship, my sister.

My crew and Captain returned to me, bringing my newest crewman- and a mortal.

A mortal, on my decks! And he was no ordinary mortal. I could feel the power he carried. He felt like my Captain had felt, before he became my Captain.

Oh, what I wouldn't give to have that mortal's power!

The mortal didn't realize that I was actually aware- well, how could he? Even if he was much like my Captain, mortals never were aware that we ships were alive. Not even in the limited way most ships were. But I and my siblings, those ships brought back from the depths by the power of Calypso or my Captain, we are as alive as the men who crew us.

And I am the eldest of us, the most powerful. But I am always interested in those who have power. I do hope this mortal ends up as my crewman.

I suspect my siblings would also like to be crewed by this man.

I watch as the mortal is put to work. Why did my Captain put him to work, but not have him join the crew? I can't do anything- not even make sure that the mortal is not killed by the storm we sail through.

If he were a part of me, my crew, I'd be able to use his power. Plus, we wouldn't have to sail through this storm, we could sail under it.

Then the mortal is hurt. How, I don't know, since I can never see things that clearly. Or, I haven't been able to in a long time.

The mortal's blood had been shed on my deck, though, so I had a way to connect with him- though it wasn't much of a connection. All I could do was know if he was alive or dead, if he wasn't on my decks.

That would have to do until I could get him to actually join my crew.

One of my crewmen is close to the mortal, helping him. If it were one of the ones who have fully become my crew, that wouldn't be a problem. I might have been able to speak through them.

Instead, it was one of the crewmen who was still fighting my call, even if it was only at the subconscious level.

Wait, it was the one that my Captain had sent to my sister, to collect her captain. I shifted my sails as the mortal and my crewman left the main deck.

The next day or so was quiet, as I grew used to the fact that I had a mortal on board. I was careful to keep all of the more venomous of the creatures on my decks asleep. I didn't want to harm this mortal.

Then he was gone, escaping in the night. I was furious that my Captain didn't make him crew when he'd had the chance.

My Captain seemed angry enough that he called the kraken to take down the ship the mortal had fled to.

The mortal survived, but I don't know what happened beyond that. About the only good thing about this is that the crewman finally stopped fighting me.

The mortal was still alive, and I longed to tell my Captain that he was back on board- clinging to my prow.

He left, of course, at the same time my Captain ordered a dive.

Over the next days and months, I was aware that my Captain and crew were not happy, somehow enslaved by another mortal.

Then more mortals climbed aboard. It was the ones who thought that they can control my Captain. Hmph. Perhaps for now, but my Captain will overcome them in time.

I released my control on the venomous creatures, and four of the mortals were injured or died before my Captain asked me to stop.

The mortal commanding him would have killed him if I did not. Reluctantly, I sheathed my claws- that was the term one of the mortals used. I liked that mortal. He didn't have power, but he respected me, and even respected my Captain.

But when he freed some prisoners, I could not let him go unpunished. It was a shame that he was killed, however. I just don't have enough fine control over the crewmen who have surrendered fully to me.

I'll need to work on that.

Still, many of the mortals who tried to control my Captain were killed before the mortals regained control.

As time passed, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to that one mortal. He was still out there, though there are been a few days where I thought he had died. Perhaps he had just been too far away.

And then he was quite close. On my sister ship, the one from all those months ago.

As Calypso's power spun around us in a maelstrom, her crew and mine fought. We exchanged a few words, and I was appalled to learn that she had been in the Locker for nearly all of those months.

Then, the mortal returned to my decks. There were a lot of mortals on my decks at that moment, of course, and a lot of my crew were on my sister ship.

It was all very confusing, as my sister ship said. The mortal fought several members of my crew as he made his way toward my wheel, carrying the Chest that my Captain used to hold his heart. Trying to keep track of it all was very hard- I'm a ship, not a woman, that I can watch humans easily!

But I was aware of when the mortal began to die. My Captain had stabbed him for some reason.

Then a crewman snapped my control over him and attacked my Captain.

I don't know why. Perhaps the dying mortal was important to him for some reason.

Then it happened. My Captain- my Captain was gone!

For a moment, I flailed about, and then I realized that there was someone else to take my Captain's place. The mortal. He would take my Captain's place. Even as I realized, I began to sink into the waters.

I grabbed hold of all my crewmen, those who had surrendered to me and those still fighting, and forced them back.

The last of the mortals on board fled the ship.

None of my crew could fight me. I would have a Captain. Then I felt it. My new Captain bound himself to me. Oh, it was nothing he did on purpose- in fact; from what I felt from him he couldn't do anything on purpose. I set my power to healing him.

It was quick, once his heart was in the Chest and I was able to fully connect with him.

And… he was doing something to me, as well. We headed for the surface, and I could feel my decks changing.

I was shedding the creatures, the driftwood. I could feel things changing.

Was this what a new Captain did to me? I liked the feeling. I was less… constricted, now. It wasn't perfect, but even as my crew took down another ship- not one of my true sisters, but still I mourned her- I could feel more and more of the sea creatures leaving me.

It was going to take more then a few days, but if it kept up, I would be free of them within a month.

My new Captain had done this. Did that mean that we would be doing what I had been brought back from the depths to do?

I could hope.

* * *

Am I the only one who sees the Dutchman as another character in the movies, if a slightly strange one? It seems to me that the ship has her own personality.

Well, anyway, I hope you liked this little one shot.


End file.
